Guide for Authors

This guide provides essential information for authors preparing manuscripts for submission to the journal. Authors are encouraged to read this guide carefully before submission and to consult the journal's Aims and Scope, Article Types, Open Access and Fees, and Journal Policies pages where applicable.

The journal publishes scholarly work in contemporary surgical science and practice, including surgical innovation and techniques, minimally invasive and robotic surgery, surgical oncology, perioperative and critical care, surgical outcomes and patient safety, digital and AI-enabled surgery, precision and personalized surgery, translational surgical research, surgical education and training, and related clinical, preclinical, and experimental studies.

Manuscripts that do not meet the journal's requirements may be returned for correction before editorial assessment or peer review. Submission of a manuscript does not guarantee external peer review or acceptance.

Authors should:

• read the journal's Aims and Scope to confirm that the manuscript fits the journal's academic focus and target readership;
• select the appropriate article type and follow the relevant requirements for structure, word limits, references, tables, figures, and supplementary materials;
• ensure that the manuscript is original, has not been formally published previously, and is not under consideration by another journal;
• obtain approval from all authors for the submitted version;
• ensure that authorship, author order, and corresponding author details have been agreed by all authors before submission;
• prepare all required statements, including ethics approval, informed consent, author contributions, competing interests, funding, data availability, clinical trial or study registration, and AI-use statements, where applicable;
• clearly describe the surgical procedure, intervention, comparator, medical device, implant, surgical technology, or experimental model studied, where applicable;
• report relevant clinical and safety outcomes, including surgical complications, adverse events, reoperations, readmissions, treatment or procedure discontinuations, and mortality, where applicable;
• disclose sponsor, funder, medical device manufacturer, surgical technology company, pharmaceutical company, biotechnology company, healthcare organization, or contract research organization involvement in study design, intervention or technology development, device or equipment provision, data access, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and publication decisions;
• follow appropriate reporting guidelines according to the study design;
• obtain permission for any third-party material, including figures, tables, images, clinical photographs, intraoperative images, medical imaging, videos, pathological images, surgical illustrations, technical diagrams, or substantial text reproduced or adapted from other sources;
• review the journal’s policies on peer review, publication ethics, authorship, research ethics, data availability, use of AI, copyright, licensing, and post-publication updates.

Authors who are unsure whether their manuscript is suitable for the journal may contact the Editorial Office with a pre-submission inquiry. A pre-submission inquiry should include the manuscript title, author list, abstract and a brief explanation of the manuscript’s relevance to the journal. A positive response to a pre-submission inquiry does not guarantee peer review or acceptance.

Preprints

The journal considers manuscripts that have been posted on recognized preprint servers, provided that the work has not been formally published and is not under consideration by another journal at the same time.

Authors must disclose any preprint at submission and provide the preprint server name, DOI or link where applicable. If the manuscript is accepted, authors are encouraged to update the preprint record with a citation and link to the final published article.

Online Submission

Manuscripts must be submitted through the journal's online submission system. Authors should create a user account, log in and submit the manuscript following the instructions in the system. Submissions sent by email are generally not considered unless specifically requested by the Editorial Office.

The maximum file size for individual uploaded files is 50 MB, unless otherwise specified by the submission system.

The journal considers several types of manuscripts. Authors should select the article type that best matches the purpose, design, and scope of their work.

Detailed requirements for each article type, including word limits, abstract format, reference limits, figure and table limits, and required sections, are provided on the Article Types page.

Common article types may include:

Research Article

Reports original research findings based on clinical, translational, surgical, experimental, preclinical, methodological, or other relevant research. Research Articles should generally include Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion sections.

Clinical Study / Surgical Intervention Study

Reports prospective or retrospective clinical studies involving surgical procedures, operative techniques, minimally invasive or robotic surgery, perioperative interventions, medical devices, implants, or other surgical interventions. Authors should provide ethics approval, trial or study registration information where applicable, detailed intervention descriptions, outcome measures, and safety reporting.

Surgical Technique / Technical Note

Describes a novel surgical technique, modification of an established procedure, operative approach, surgical device, instrument, or technical innovation. Authors should provide sufficient procedural and technical details to allow appropriate evaluation and, where feasible, reproducibility.

Surgical Technology / Digital and AI-Enabled Surgery Study

Reports research involving robotic surgery, artificial intelligence, machine learning, surgical navigation, digital surgery, computer-assisted surgery, image-guided surgery, simulation, or other emerging surgical technologies. Authors should clearly describe the technology, intended use, development or validation methods, datasets, performance measures, human oversight, and relevant clinical or safety outcomes where applicable.

Perioperative and Surgical Outcomes Study

Reports studies addressing perioperative management, enhanced recovery, surgical critical care, postoperative complications, patient safety, functional outcomes, quality of life, readmission, reoperation, mortality, healthcare utilization, or other clinically relevant surgical outcomes.

Preclinical, Experimental, In Vitro or Ex Vivo Study

Reports laboratory-based or preclinical research relevant to surgical science, including animal models, human tissues, organoids, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, biomaterials, surgical simulation, device testing, and other experimental systems.

Review Article

Provides a comprehensive, balanced, and critical overview of a defined topic in contemporary surgical science. Review Articles should synthesize current evidence, identify knowledge gaps, and discuss future directions.

Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Presents a systematic search, selection, appraisal, and synthesis of existing evidence. Authors should follow appropriate reporting guidelines and provide protocol registration information where applicable.

Brief Report / Short Communication

Reports concise but significant findings that may not require a full-length article. These submissions should present clear methods, focused results, and a well-supported conclusion.

Case Report / Case Series

Describes clinically or scientifically important cases involving unusual surgical conditions, novel procedures, rare complications, innovative treatments, or other findings of particular clinical or scientific interest. Written informed consent for publication must be obtained when identifiable patient information, clinical photographs, intraoperative images, videos, imaging studies, or case details are included.

Method / Technical Note

Describes a novel or substantially improved method, surgical protocol, experimental model, analytical approach, imaging technique, device-related method, simulation method, or other technical development relevant to surgical science.

Guideline / Consensus

Provides evidence-based or expert consensus recommendations on a specific topic in surgery or perioperative care. The methodology for evidence review, panel composition, conflict-of-interest management, consensus development, and recommendation grading should be clearly described.

Editorial / Commentary / Perspective

Presents expert opinion, critical discussion, or interpretation of current issues in contemporary surgical science, including surgical innovation, emerging technologies, clinical practice, patient safety, and future directions. These article types are usually commissioned, but unsolicited submissions may be considered at the editors' discretion.

Letter to the Editor

Provides brief comments on articles published in the journal or concise observations, clinical experiences, or scientific findings of interest to readers.

For formatting examples and full-text preparation guidelines, authors may refer to the Samples page and review the relevant sample manuscripts prior to submission.

Manuscripts should be prepared clearly, concisely, and consistently. Authors should write for an international scholarly audience and avoid unnecessary jargon, unsupported claims, or excessive technical detail that is not essential to understanding the work.

File Format

Manuscripts should be submitted in an editable format, such as Microsoft Word. LaTeX files may be accepted where appropriate. Figures, tables, clinical and intraoperative images, surgical illustrations, medical imaging, videos, and supplementary materials should be prepared according to the journal’s file and formatting requirements.

Title Page

The title page should include:

• manuscript title;

• full names of all authors;

• author affiliations;

• corresponding author name, email address, and full contact details;

• ORCID iDs, where available;

• equal contribution or co-corresponding author notes, where applicable;

• short running title, if required;

• word count, number of figures, number of tables, and number of supplementary files, if requested.

  
  

Abstract and Keywords

The abstract should accurately summarize the purpose, methods, main findings, and conclusions of the manuscript. Original Research Articles, clinical studies, surgical intervention studies, and other research articles should generally use a structured abstract where required by the article type.

Authors should provide keywords that are specific, searchable, and relevant to the manuscript. Standardized medical, surgical, technological, or methodological terms should be used where appropriate.

Main Text

Original Research Articles should generally include:

• Introduction;

• Methods;

• Results;

• Discussion;

• Conclusions, where appropriate.

  
  

The Methods section should provide sufficient detail to allow the work to be evaluated and, where applicable, reproduced. Authors should describe study design, clinical setting, participants, eligibility criteria, surgical procedures or interventions, comparator, surgical technique, devices or technologies used, outcome measures, safety monitoring, statistical methods, software, sample size considerations, and analysis plans, where relevant.

The Results section should present findings in a logical order, supported by appropriate tables, figures, and statistical information. The Discussion should interpret the findings in the context of existing evidence, acknowledge limitations, and avoid overstating conclusions.

Surgical Procedures, Devices and Technologies

Where applicable, manuscripts should clearly describe the surgical procedure, intervention, operative approach, surgical technique, medical device, implant, robotic system, artificial intelligence or other technology studied.

Authors should provide sufficient information on:

• name and description of the surgical procedure or intervention;

• indications, eligibility criteria, and relevant clinical setting;

• operative approach and key procedural steps;

• instruments, devices, implants, or technologies used, including manufacturer and model where relevant;

• relevant technical specifications and operating parameters;

• surgeon experience or training where relevant;

• anesthesia and perioperative management where applicable;

• comparator or standard surgical procedure;

• modifications or deviations from the planned procedure or study protocol;

• relevant postoperative management and follow-up.

Authors should avoid promotional language and should not present investigational, early-stage, or limited-validation surgical techniques, devices, or technologies as established clinical practice.

Tables and Figures

Tables and figures should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are cited in the text. Each table and figure should have a clear title and legend.

Figures should be of sufficient resolution for peer review and publication. Authors should avoid image manipulation that could misrepresent the data. Adjustments to brightness, contrast, or color balance must not obscure, eliminate, or misrepresent information. Any substantial image processing or enhancement should be appropriately described.

Where figures or tables are reproduced or adapted from another source, authors must obtain appropriate permission and provide proper attribution.

Clinical, Intraoperative and Pathological Images

Clinical photographs, intraoperative images, medical imaging, pathological images, surgical videos, and other visual or audiovisual materials should be appropriately anonymized before submission where applicable.

Written consent for publication is required when a patient or participant may be identifiable from clinical photographs, facial features, distinctive anatomical characteristics, surgical images or videos, imaging studies, pathological findings, rare conditions, or other case details.

Authors should ensure that clinical and surgical images accurately represent the reported findings. Images must not be manipulated in a manner that introduces, removes, or obscures clinically relevant information.

Supplementary Materials

Supplementary materials should be directly relevant to the manuscript and should support, but not replace, the main text. Supplementary files may include extended methods, additional tables, figures, surgical protocols, operative videos, datasets, checklists, study protocols, statistical analysis plans, technical specifications, validation data, code, or other supporting information.

References

References should be accurate, complete, and relevant. Authors are responsible for checking all references before submission. References should be formatted in accordance with the journal’s reference style. Please click here to download the journal’s EndNote output style.

Authors should avoid inappropriate citation practices, including excessive self-citation, citation manipulation, or citation of unreliable sources.

Language and Style

Manuscripts should be written in clear English. Authors should use precise, professional, and non-promotional language. Claims regarding efficacy, safety, novelty, superiority, surgical performance, or clinical utility should be supported by appropriate evidence.

Authors who are not fluent in English may consider professional language editing before submission. Language editing does not guarantee editorial review or acceptance.

Authors should follow appropriate reporting guidelines according to study design and should submit completed checklists where required.

Relevant guidelines may include:

• CONSORT for randomized controlled trials;

• SPIRIT for clinical trial protocols;

• PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analyses;

• STROBE for observational studies;

• STARD for diagnostic accuracy studies;

• TRIPOD or TRIPOD+AI for prediction model studies;

• CARE for case reports;

• ARRIVE for animal studies;

• TIDieR for intervention description;

• SQUIRE for quality improvement studies;

• CONSORT-AI or SPIRIT-AI for studies involving artificial intelligence components, where applicable.

  
  

Authors should consult the EQUATOR Network to identify the most appropriate reporting guideline for their study design.

Clinical and Surgical Studies

For clinical studies involving surgical procedures, surgical techniques, minimally invasive or robotic surgery, medical devices, implants, perioperative interventions, or other surgical treatments, authors should describe the clinical setting and intervention in sufficient detail.

Where applicable, authors should report:

• diagnosis, disease severity, eligibility criteria, and relevant baseline characteristics;

• surgical indication, operative approach, and clinical setting;

• surgical procedure and key technical steps;

• surgeon experience, training, or level of expertise where relevant;

• instruments, devices, implants, or other technologies used, including manufacturer and model where appropriate;

• anesthesia and perioperative management;

• comparator or standard surgical procedure;

• primary and secondary outcome measures and assessment time points;

• operative time, blood loss, conversion, length of hospital stay, and other relevant perioperative outcomes;

• postoperative complications, adverse events, reoperations, readmissions, and mortality;

• follow-up duration and recurrence, functional, or quality-of-life outcomes where relevant.

  
  

Surgical Techniques, Devices and Emerging Technologies

For studies evaluating new or modified surgical techniques, medical devices, implants, robotic systems, artificial intelligence-assisted surgery, digital surgery, surgical navigation, or other emerging technologies, authors should provide sufficient information to support critical evaluation and, where feasible, reproducibility.

Where applicable, authors should report:

• rationale, intended use, and clinical indications;

• technical specifications and relevant device or system characteristics;

• operative or procedural workflow;

• operator training and human–technology interaction where relevant;

• development, validation, and performance assessment;

• comparator or standard-of-care approach;

• technical failures, device-related complications, revisions, or removals;

• clinical performance, patient outcomes, and safety findings;

• limitations, potential risks, and barriers to clinical implementation.

Claims regarding superiority, clinical effectiveness, safety, or readiness for clinical use should be supported by appropriate evidence.

Perioperative Care and Surgical Outcomes

For studies addressing perioperative care, enhanced recovery, surgical critical care, patient safety, or surgical outcomes, authors should clearly define the intervention, outcome measures, follow-up period, and assessment methods.

Where applicable, authors should report:

• perioperative risk factors and baseline characteristics;

• preoperative optimization and perioperative management;

• postoperative complications and their definitions and grading;

• reoperation, readmission, length of stay, and mortality;

• functional outcomes and patient-reported outcomes;

• quality of life and long-term outcomes where relevant;

• adherence to treatment or perioperative protocols;

• missing data, loss to follow-up, and relevant limitations.

Artificial Intelligence and Digital Surgery

For studies involving artificial intelligence, machine learning, medical image analysis, robotic systems, surgical navigation, prediction models, or other digital technologies, authors should clearly describe the technology and its intended clinical application.

Where applicable, authors should report:

• AI system or model name and version;

• data sources, dataset characteristics, inclusion and exclusion criteria;

• data preprocessing, annotation, training, validation, and testing procedures;

• internal or external validation;

• performance metrics and confidence intervals where appropriate;

• handling of missing data and potential sources of bias;

• human oversight and clinician interaction;

• comparison with relevant clinical standards or human experts;

• explainability, limitations, potential risks, and safeguards.

  
  

Authors should follow relevant AI reporting guidelines, including CONSORT-AI, SPIRIT-AI, TRIPOD+AI, or other applicable guidance.

Preclinical, Experimental, In Vitro and Ex Vivo Studies

For preclinical, experimental, in vitro, or ex vivo studies relevant to surgical science, authors should provide sufficient methodological detail to support reproducibility and critical evaluation.

Where applicable, authors should report:

• cell lines, primary cells, organoids, tissue-engineered constructs, animal models, human tissues, or other experimental models;

• source, authentication, passage number, culture conditions, and contamination testing where relevant;

• source, anatomical site, donor or animal characteristics, storage conditions, and ethical procurement of human or animal tissues;

• experimental conditions, controls, replicates, randomization, blinding, and sample size considerations;

• surgical procedures, experimental interventions, devices, implants, or technologies used;

• relevant technical and experimental parameters;

• histological, imaging, molecular, biochemical, biomechanical, or functional assessment methods;

• analytical methods, validation procedures, and relevant statistical methods;

• limitations of the experimental model and its relevance to clinical surgical practice.

For animal studies, authors should follow appropriate animal research reporting standards and describe measures taken to minimize pain, distress, and unnecessary animal use.

Clinical Trial Registration and Data Sharing

Clinical trials and interventional studies involving surgical procedures, medical devices, implants, robotic or minimally invasive surgery, or other surgical interventions should be registered in a publicly accessible registry before participant recruitment begins where required. The registry name and registration number should be provided in the manuscript.

Manuscripts reporting clinical trials should include a Data Availability Statement where required by applicable standards or journal policy. Authors should clearly indicate whether de-identified individual participant data will be shared, what data and related documents will be available, when and for how long they will be available, and any conditions for access.

Shared clinical data must be appropriately de-identified and consistent with ethics approval, informed consent, and applicable data protection requirements.

Authors must include all statements required by the journal and applicable policies. These statements should usually appear in the manuscript file, title page, acknowledgements section, or submission system, according to the journal’s instructions.

Required statements may include:

Ethics Approval

Studies involving human participants, human data, human tissue, biological specimens, animals, or identifiable clinical information must include the name of the ethics committee, institutional review board, or relevant authority, approval number or reference, and any relevant exemption information.

Informed Consent

For studies involving human participants, authors should state whether informed consent was obtained. For identifiable patient information, case details, clinical photographs, intraoperative images, medical imaging, pathological images, surgical videos, or any other identifiable material, written consent for publication must be obtained where required.

Clinical Trial or Study Registration

Clinical trials and interventional studies should provide the registry name and registration number where applicable. Registration should occur before participant recruitment begins where required.

Author Contributions

Authors should describe each author’s contribution to the work. The journal encourages use of the CRediT taxonomy where appropriate.

Competing Interests

All authors must disclose any financial or non-financial competing interests. For surgical and clinical research, relevant disclosures may include employment, consultancy, advisory roles, honoraria, stock ownership, patents, patent applications, royalties, licensing agreements, medical device or implant development, surgical technology or robotic system development, device or equipment donation, sponsored clinical studies, data access arrangements, statistical support, writing assistance, or relationships with pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, surgical technology companies, biotechnology companies, healthcare organizations, contract research organizations, or other sponsors.

Funding

Authors should disclose all funding sources and grant numbers. The role of funders, sponsors, or commercial partners in study design, surgical procedure or intervention development, device or technology provision, participant recruitment, data collection, data access, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and the decision to submit should be stated. If the work received no specific funding, this should also be declared.

Data Availability

Authors should include a Data Availability Statement describing where the data supporting the findings can be accessed or explaining why data cannot be shared.

For clinical studies, authors should ensure that shared data are appropriately de-identified and consistent with ethics approval, informed consent, and applicable data protection requirements. Restrictions due to privacy, ethics, legal, commercial, intellectual property, confidentiality, or safety reasons should be clearly explained.

Use of AI and AI-assisted Technologies

AI tools and large language models cannot be listed as authors. Authors remain responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of all submitted content.

Use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies beyond basic language editing should be disclosed according to the journal’s AI policy. Authors should identify the tool used, describe how it was used, and verify all AI-assisted content, including references, factual claims, data interpretation, and generated text.

For manuscripts involving AI-enabled surgery, medical image analysis, prediction models, robotic systems, or clinical decision support, authors should also provide appropriate information on the AI system, data sources, validation, performance, human oversight, and relevant limitations where applicable.

Acknowledgements

Individuals or organizations that contributed to the work but do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged with their permission.

Before submitting a manuscript, authors should ensure that the following items are complete:

• the manuscript fits the journal's Aims and Scope;

• the correct article type has been selected;

• the manuscript follows the relevant structure and formatting requirements;

• the title page includes complete author, affiliation, and corresponding author information;

• all authors have approved the submitted version;

• authorship, author order, and corresponding author details have been confirmed;

• the abstract and keywords are included;

• all tables and figures are cited in the text and uploaded in the required format;

• figure legends and table titles are complete;

• supplementary materials are cited and uploaded where applicable;

• references are accurate and complete;

• the surgical procedure, intervention, comparator, medical device, implant, or surgical technology is adequately described where applicable;

• relevant clinical outcomes, surgical complications, adverse events, reoperations, readmissions, and mortality are reported where applicable;

• ethics approval, informed consent, and clinical trial or study registration information are provided where applicable;

• author contributions, competing interests, funding, and data availability statements are included;

• sponsor, funder, medical device manufacturer, surgical technology company, or other commercial partner involvement is disclosed where applicable;

• AI-use disclosure is included where applicable;

• AI system, dataset, validation, performance, and human oversight information is provided for AI-related studies where applicable;

• appropriate reporting checklists and flow diagrams are uploaded for relevant study types;

• permission has been obtained for third-party material;

• clinical photographs, intraoperative images, medical imaging, pathological images, and surgical videos are appropriately anonymized and accompanied by publication consent where required;

• all required files have been uploaded to the submission system.

Manuscripts should be submitted through the journal's online submission system. Submissions sent by email are generally not considered unless specifically requested by the Editorial Office.

During submission, authors may be asked to provide:

• manuscript title and abstract;

• author names, affiliations, and email addresses;

• corresponding author details;

• article type;

• keywords;

• cover letter;

• manuscript file;

• figures, tables, and supplementary files;

• required statements and declarations;

• reporting checklists and flow diagrams, where applicable;

• suggested or opposed reviewers, where permitted;

• funding and competing interest information.

Authors should disclose any related manuscripts, previous submissions, preprints, clinical trial or study registration records, conference presentations, technical reports, device-related reports, or other overlapping or related work.

Authors may suggest potential reviewers where permitted by the submission system. Reviewer selection remains at the editors' discretion. Suggested reviewers must be independent and free from conflicts of interest.

After submission, the corresponding author will receive confirmation from the submission system. The Editorial Office may contact the corresponding author if required information is missing or if files need correction before editorial assessment.

If revision is invited, authors should submit the revised manuscript within the deadline stated in the decision letter. Extensions may be requested from the Editorial Office where necessary.

A revised submission should usually include:

• a clean version of the revised manuscript;

• a marked-up or tracked-changes version showing revisions;

• a detailed point-by-point response to all editor and reviewer comments;

• revised figures, tables or supplementary materials, where applicable;

• updated declarations or statements, if any changes have been made.

Authors should respond to each comment respectfully and clearly. Where authors disagree with a reviewer or editor comment, they should provide a reasoned explanation supported by evidence where appropriate.

Submission of a revised manuscript does not guarantee acceptance. Revised manuscripts may be returned to reviewers, assessed by the editors or declined if concerns have not been adequately addressed.

Upon manuscript acceptance, the editorial office will contact the corresponding author to arrange subsequent publication procedures. This journal currently waives all Article Processing Charges (APC) and articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 International License.  

The corresponding author will receive page proofs for final review prior to formal publication. Proof‑stage corrections should be restricted to typographical, formatting errors and minor factual errata only. Any substantial alterations to manuscript content, authorship, data analysis, results, or conclusions following acceptance may be considered only in exceptional cases, require full justification together with written consent of all relevant authors, and need explicit approval from the Editorial Office. The Editorial Office may reject such requests.

Accepted manuscripts may be published Online First and assigned a formal DOI prior to issue allocation. Following Online‑first publication, authors may share and archive their articles in accordance with the journal's article‑sharing and self‑archiving policies.

All post-publication updates, including corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern, will be processed in strict accordance with the journal's publishing ethics policies.